


Life Without

by DoomNightAt12



Category: Dr. STONE (Anime), Dr. STONE (Manga)
Genre: AU where Byakuya doesn't take in Senku, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dreams and Nightmares, Gen, Light Angst, Orphan Senku
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-16 23:40:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29832693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoomNightAt12/pseuds/DoomNightAt12
Summary: In another universe, young Senku finds himself without parents or a guardian.But ever curious, he decides to do what he can to learn about the world, all on his own.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 13





	Life Without

Under a little sign that reads ‘Senku’, lies a sleeping boy of around 5 years old.

Sometimes at night, he dreams. He hasn't figured out why yet, but he has his guesses.

In the dream he enters a room, filled with all sorts of wonders. Books piled high, computers and machines, things he’s only seen on TV, shiny and new and unknown, and in the middle of it all is a telescope, pointed vertically into the sky. He runs to it, looking into the lens, but after what feels like ages of shifting, he finds it impossible to focus on the stars. So he pulls away- and finds a roof where the sky once was. And as he turns, the walls creep closer, and closer, enclosing him, until he's struggling to keep them from crushing him.

He thinks, "Am I like Schrodinger’s cat?" before the darkness takes him.

And he wakes.

Blankets have constricted him like a python, crushing him to stop his struggling before he becomes a meal. He hasn't read about how to escape a python, but thankfully blankets don't put up the same resistance as a living creature.

Once free, he takes a moment to watch and listen to his surroundings, observation vital for any new discovery. The other children in the room still sleep in various states, a few eyes quiver beneath their lids. Light seeps into the room from the window, though born from electricity rather than whatever made stars shine.

He really wanted to know why stars shine.

Tiredness is chased away by his thoughts, spinning faster and faster in his head. He knows he won’t be able to return to sleep, and not that he really wants to after that dream. The crowded room suddenly feels even smaller.

He gets up, but rather than leaving the bed he climbs onto the table beside, putting him at the window. He already had this set up, a sliver of thin metal blocking the lock from properly engaging, letting him push it open to invite the nights air. From his short vantage, he can see bugs flittering around the streetlight.

He wonders how many different bugs there are.

He wonders why only some of them fly.

He wonders how people can fly, strapped into those big, metal birds they call airplanes.

He huffs a sigh, sending the strand of hair on his forehead flying upwards. He can’t get any answers right now, not while he’s stuck here, but maybe he could make some guesses?

‘ _People fly in a machine shaped like a bird, even spaceships are kind of bird shaped. Birds comes in many different sizes, but they can all fly, so it’s not the size but the shape that means they can fly?’_

That seemed right, but he couldn’t tell if he was on the right track.

_‘What about other things that fly? If they’re bird shaped too, then that’s more evidence.’_

The bugs were erratic, jostling and colliding under the electric hum, but they were still flying. Without a glance behind him, he grabbed the edge of the curtain that pooled on the table, dropping it out the window to help lower himself onto the concrete below.

He needed to investigate.

He needed to learn.

And he could only rely on himself to find the answers.

**Author's Note:**

> Musing on what Senku would become had he not been taken in by Byakuya, however after hearing from some people my heart is swayed to think that Senku wouldn't be as science crazy without Byakuya. 
> 
> BUT I still wanted to explore a lone Senku into science. Which technically has lead to a delinquent!Senku AU, which I'm also heavily musing on...


End file.
